What
is your favorite location, place, building, or spot in Royalton? Why?

It's
my backyard. Because it's mine and because I've had a lot of really good times
with my daughter out there. We have a very small pen for our indoor cats so we
take our cats out there and they chew on grass. It has a lot of good memories.
A lot of good times just hanging out, no pressure. It's just kind of our place.

What
do you think makes Royalton unique or different from other places you have
lived or visited?

A lot
of things. One of them is that it's a college town but it's a grad school
college town which means you have a large influx of new and different and
interesting people from different and interesting places. But you don't have as
many issues with a party scene or those kind of social difficulties that
sometimes come with an undergrad school where everybody is 18 and out on their
own for the first time. We do get students who are out of their house or
community for the first time but it's not the same as a fairly young and less
mature student body.

What
is the most challenging aspect of life in a small Vermont town like Royalton?

I'd
say there's two challenges. One is that in this particular town because of the graduate
school there's a lot of change that's continual. That can result in a certain
amount of tension. I live between two apartment buildings so you do get to know
your neighbors a little bit but then they're gone. The other issue is the flip
side of that which is there can be a lot of stagnation. There's a lot of people
who like the town the way it is and don't want any change even when it's change
that might be necessary or valuable.

What
Royalton resident made a positive difference in your life?

Just
one, I can't do that! Most of my family is here so my parents, my grandparents,
my aunts and uncles are here. I have lots and lots of cousins. I have a second
cousin whom you've already photographed. Family is a huge influence here. There
are some teachers who are hugely influential. I'm going to pick one who is
related by marriage and that's my excuse for picking her. Charlotte Ballou taught
for over 30 years in this community and had both myself and my daughter as
students. That's a big step. She taught me in 5th grade and my
daughter in 5th grade which is kind of when a lot of hormonal and
emotional challenges start cropping up and I was always pretty impressed in
retrospect as I got to be an adult at how well she handled all that stuff.
Aside from her fairly rigorous academic standards.

What
do you want people to know about your town?

We are
a lot more interesting than we might appear at first glance. Once you scratch
the surface we have a really interesting variety of experiences and backgrounds
in individuals here from the people who have never left town to the people who
just...